Sencha Gyokuro Asahi
Wow!! What an afternoon for a Teahead like me! This afternoon I went to Cups and Leaves in Haarlem. A wonderful Tea bar. But before that I went to my favorite shop in Haarlem: The art of Tea
What I love about this shop is that you don’t have to buy bulk. So if you want to buy 50 gram of a certain tea that is no problem at all. So therefore you can try more tea. Now that I’ve tried more tea my pallet starts to develop more and I become more adventurous. I am now discovering Japanese Green Tea. I had read about Sencha Gyokuro so my aim today was getting some of it. It turns out that I’ve got a pretty expensive taste! Not only do I like Matcha. Another favorite of mine is Milk Silk Oolong. But even the Milk Oolong is cheap compared by the Sencha. But if you can get your hands on it you are in for a treat! Just the smell alone is divine! I am still struggling with my tasting notes! I can’t put into words what I smell and taste! It is literally on the tip of my tong but I just can’t get my head around it! But I’m going to try it anyway.
From the moment the store owner handed me my packet I smelled something very nice and sweet. And when I opened my bag just a little bit later to get something I just could smell the tea. I expected green tea to be a bit savory and grassy. But this one it totally not!! It’s lubricating, thick and sweet. It smells like banana’s, milk, warm cookies. But it also got something fresh about it. You just don’t know what hit you! I think this is the most exciting tea I’ve ever tasted! It swirls you around. The smell, the taste. One moment you think: Ah, banana…. and then you think..ooh, it’s more like almonds, or milky. It’s not bitter but when you had a few sips there is a little hint of bitterness that turns into sweet. It feels a bit rough on the tongue but not in a unpleasant way. Like you just ate something that got stuck on your tongue. But it’s just on the top. The sides stay fresh and clean. And although it’s got a slightly bitter ending it is not unpleasant.
After about 7-8 infusions the tea gets less sweet and becomes more astringent, a little more savory, just a little bit more bitter with a sweet aftertaste. And it also the minerality gets more to the forefront. So it keeps surprising. But the aftertaste is still like cookies. Quite milky. It’s a very easy tea to drink. It also got something fruity to it. I can’t really put my finger on what kind of fruit. But besides bananas it also got notes of some fresher fruit. But the milk and cookies and bananas are the main smells and taste that keep coming back. It’s a stunner!! This tea got so much dept. And even after so many infusions this tea keeps revealing different layers. I keep thinking Wow, what is it now that I smell and taste. But it is a very clean, fresh tea. The aftertaste is amazing. I can taste it in the back of my throat. It doesn’t make me feel full. Some tea makes you feel stuffed. But this one doesn’t at all. I had so many cups and I feel like I can have some more. And I will! 😀 I am going to drink some more. This is the most exciting tea I’ve had so far! What an adventure! Not like any green tea I ever had. If someone had said to me that this was an oolong I would’ve believed it as well because this is such a different green tea. So yeah, I am a fan!! I’m going to drink some more………. absolutely awesome tea!
Until next time……keep drinking loose leaf tea teaheads!
